剧 (jù) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

jù theatrical plays, opera, drama; severe, acute 10 strokes · Radical 刂 (knife) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 剧 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced jù.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
剧 — 10 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

剧 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

剧 =
居 left to live
刂 right knife

Radical

The radical of 剧 is 刂 — meaning knife. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 划利列判剩则.

How the character is built

剧 is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 刂 (knife) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component 居 originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 剧

电视剧 diànshìjù TV series; TV drama
这部电视剧非常好看。
Zhè bù diànshìjù fēicháng hǎokàn.
This TV series is really good.
话剧 huàjù stage play; drama
我们明天去看话剧。
Wǒmen míngtiān qù kàn huàjù.
We're going to see a play tomorrow.
京剧 jīngjù Peking Opera; Beijing Opera
京剧是中国的国粹。
Jīngjù shì Zhōngguó de guócuì.
Peking Opera is a national treasure of China.
剧院 jùyuàn theater
今晚我们去剧院看演出。
Jīnwǎn wǒmen qù jùyuàn kàn yǎnchū.
We're going to the theater to see a show tonight.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

剧 appears in 16 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

晚上有京剧，座位要提前联系，想看的现在报名。
From Mock Exam 03 →
虽然京剧的历史才两百多年，但是已经发展得很成熟了。
From Mock Exam 10 →
随着社会的发展，京剧也在改变着，以适应不同年龄观众的需要。
From Mock Exam 10 →

Tasks Featuring 剧 / 相关任务

Words containing 剧 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 介绍文艺形式、活动、作品
Arts & Entertainment · 话剧、京剧、剧院
📚 交流业余爱好、休闲度假
Hobbies & Leisure · 电视剧

FAQ

What does 剧 mean in Chinese?

剧 (jù) means theatrical plays, opera, drama; severe, acute. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 剧 have?

剧 is written in 10 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 剧?

The radical of 剧 is 刂 (knife). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 划, 利, 列, 判, 剩.

What is the pinyin for 剧?

剧 is pronounced jù.

What HSK 4 words use 剧?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 剧 appears in 4 words, including 电视剧 (diànshìjù), 话剧 (huàjù), 京剧 (jīngjù), 剧院 (jùyuàn). See the full list above.

← 具 jù All Characters 距 jù →